ELEPHANT CAVE AND UNDERGROUND THEATER

Ledge for anti-aircraft guns

I continue exploring this communist caveland of Viengxay, and now I'm climbing many, many steps up the stone mountain. The steep climb is enough to make my long legs sore. 

Finally, we reach a large ledge that has been cut right into the limestone of the mountainside. It’s a steep drop below me, with a commanding view beyond. In the distance are more mountains, with feathery clouds dotting their peaks. Beautiful rolling farmers fields are swathed in many shades of green. 

My guide Kale tells me his family is from Viengxay; his parents were farmers here during those fearful times of war. He says that when they were out working the fields then, and enemy aircraft came, they ran into the jungle or into the caves to hide. When day time air attacks became frequent, they could hardly get any work done at all. So they began working fields at night. 

The commanding view from this ledge is no accident, because this vantage point was once the site of a Pathet Lao anti-aircraft emplacement. The old guns are gone, but a sign here describes what days were like back then. 

“Defending Viengxay

Anti-aircraft guns were fixed inside this cave and on the plain below. The Anti-aircraft gunnery commander was situated high in this cave, where there was a good view across the plain to the west. From here field telephones were used to command the gun emplacements on the plain and to direct fire at the incoming enemy aircraft. Warning sirens on top of the peaks were set off when incoming planes were spotted. 

Anti-aircraft gunner's view of plains and mountains surrounding Viengxay

Anti-aircraft gunners sat here for hours on end surveying the skies to the west. They were waiting for American bombers to arrive from their bases in northern Thailand, mainly from a specially constructed base in Udon Thani, or Royal Lao Government aircraft from Vientiane. When the bombers were seen, the noise from the guns firing from inside the confined space of the cave must have been deafening. For the gunners on the open plains below, the risks were even higher than for their comrades in the caves, as they were directly exposed to attacking aircraft. You can see bomb craters just below this cliff, at the base of the stairs to the Artillery Cave.”

I peer down at the ground to look for the craters, but they're difficult to see with the thick brush below. It may not be entirely safe down there either. Even though there have been three decades for erosion to fill in many of the old craters, there are still many unexploded bombs in the ground all around Viengxay. 

Farmers still find these old bombs when they're out plowing fields in the region. Being a farmer can be a hazardous profession in Laos. 

'Elephant Cave', the largest cave in the underground communist city

Continuing on, I finally reach the biggest cave in all of Viengxay, and it’s an impressive sight. I’m gawking at the cave of Xanglot, which translates as ‘Elephant Pass Cave’. The jagged and uneven limestone ceiling curves from 20 feet high at the sides, up to more than 30 feet near the middle. The cave is well named; a full grown Asian elephant could walk in through one end of this cave, and straight out the other. 

In the underground world that made up wartime Viengxay, this was an important political center. There were official functions in this huge cave; communist party rallys and propaganda meetings.  For the Pathet Lao, this was kind of like Moscow’s Red Square, only in a bomb shelter. It was also used as a lecture hall for military training. 

Thanks to it’s larger entrances, I have plenty of light to see. At the far end is a curious sight, a theatrical stage. That reveals this place's other name: 'Theater Cave'. 

Photo display of old wartime performances and rallies

The cave stage is complete with an orchestra pit, and a room in the wings for costume changes. The stage floor isn’t made of wood though, it’s smoothened bedrock. I imagine there wasn’t much tap dancing here. 

Out in front, the audience section had room for 2,000 comrades, where they sat out on the bare rock floor to enjoy the show. 

In the sheltered, underground life that everyone in wartime Viengxay endured, this was one of the few places where the soldiers and locals could enjoy themselves and forget about the bombings for a while. 

There were cultural shows, circus acts, and singing with live music for the party faithful. There were even special appearances by female performers doing traditional dances, brought all the way in from Vietnam. These were the communist versions of USO shows. It wasn’t Bob Hope, but it did a lot to lift their spirits and boost morale. 

Visitor walks across the old empty stage

The Theater Cave still gets some use nowadays; the local community uses it as a venue for the Laotian New Year’s celebration. But for the most part, the old stage is quiet and bare; even the old curtain has been removed. 

The days when Pathet Lao troops here, enjoyed the communist version of vaudeville underneath a mountain, are now only distant memories. 

OLD TOWN HANOI STROLL

Lady fruit sellers wait for customers in Old Town Hanoi

As morning comes in Hanoi, I am rudely awakened at 5 a.m. by a government loudspeaker. It's blaring out their daily propaganda wakeup message. Unfortunately for me, the speaker happens to be located right outside my hotel window. I groan, cover my ears, and try to go back to sleep. I later go down to reception, and switch my room to the back of the hotel so I can be further away from the morning noise. But now I have the opposite problem, the hotel’s back rooms have no windows at all! It’s more of a cave really, it's certainly a fire hazard. Well, at least it’s quiet.

After finding some croissants in a nearby café, I head out for a walk around the city’s old quarter. Hanoi is a city that's 1,000 years old. Although this ancient commercial neighborhood is limited by narrow streets, the business scene here is really bustling. Asian style shophouses are packed tightly together, selling all manner of local and imported goods. Everyone I see in the old town is busy browsing, buying, or trying to make a sale. Street vendors in conical hats sell fresh fruit, while the ever present motorbikes buzz on by.

French colonial architecture in Old Town

Old archway entrance in Hanoi

Crossing many streets in the packed borough, I learn that each road in this area has a product specialty. One street has numerous silk shops, another street is packed with shoe stores, and still another is packed with hair accessories. It seems a counterproductive arrangement for shopkeepers to have their competition all on the same street, but it works in Hanoi, as it has here for centuries.

The Presidential Palace, former home of the French colonial governor.

Following the free market reforms of their Chinese neighbors to the north, capitalism has taken hold in this capital city. But even though this city is Vietnam’s second largest, I notice the pace is different. Looking around the shops, it’s not as noisy and hectic here, as it is in Saigon/HCMC. As compared to the hardworking, dollar chasing southerners, business in the north is conducted in a more restrained fashion. Hanoi has always been more reserved than Saigon, and they endured communist controlled markets far longer than in the south did. As things are now, Saigon may be the center of finance, but Hanoi is still the center of political power.

As I leave the old quarter and explore other areas of the downtown, I find that many of the old French colonial buildings still survive. Close to Hoan Kiem Lake, there are the majestic Opera House, many old restaurants and lovely French villas. Some government offices in Hanoi still work out of old yellow colonial buildings from the French era. The Presidential Palace is immaculate, and

Italian restaurant in Old Town. International eateries are becoming more popular.

looks as though the French governor has just walked out the door. There are far more examples of colonial architecture remaining here, than there are in Saigon, and even pre-colonial Chinese style homes can still be found. This isn’t what I was expecting at all, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Since Hanoi had been bombed so many times during the war with the US, I was imagining that the old city must have been reduced to rubble back then, like Berlin during World War II. I was expecting to find blase communist blocks; I’m surprised to see that so many of Hanoi's old historic buildings have survived. These lovely old neighborhoods give Hanoi a romantic air, a sense of history that is hard to find elsewhere in Vietnam.

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!! - A RUDE AWAKENING

G-O-O-O-O-O-D MORNING VIETNAM!! 5AM comes early.

It's early morning in the Mekong Delta in Ben Tre, and I have my first encounter with the local government. At 5am in my hotel, I'm awakened by announcements bellowing from a government loudspeaker out on the street. I recall how Robin Williams screamed out, "Good Morning Vietnam!", from his movie of the same name. But this early am announcer isn't anywhere near as entertaining.

“Good morning Vietnam. Time to wake up. Fathers, get up and get ready to go to work, and provide for your families. Mothers, get up and start cooking breakfast. Children, get up and get ready for school. Study hard, and make your parents proud of you. Remember mothers and fathers, having two children in your family is enough. You don’t need more children than that.”

This rough translation is a reminder that the government is pushing to reduce population growth. Vietnam’s current population is 91 million, more than double the population from when the war ended in 1975. This is by far the most densely populated country in Southeast Asia. Unlike China, which has the one child policy, Vietnam is calling for families to have only two. There is less pressure put on farming families. The government expects farmers to have more children, so that they will have more help to work the fields.

Local workers do horticulture by hand in a Ben Tre park

Still, enforcement of this policy on city dwellers can be harsh. If a woman has a government job, and she has more than two children, she can be forced to leave her job, or be demoted. Enforcement of this policy is also emphasized with ethnic minorities, as the government seeks to keep them in check.

I discover that these morning propaganda announcements are not a rare occurrence. These early broadcasts happen almost every day, and there are loudspeakers such as this one hanging in neighborhoods throughout Vietnam. Apparently the government believes that their daily announcements are more effective, if they use them to wake you up. Later that day I hear a siren, much like a tornado siren. Fortunately, it's only a test, for when typhoons are headed this way. In 2006 when Typhoon Durian blew through the Mekong Delta, 66 people were killed, hundreds of boats sank, and thousands of houses were destroyed. Ben Tre Province was one of the hardest hit. Much like after the war, it took them years to rebuild from the destruction.

Ben Tre riverboats. Note the traditional paintings on the bow of each craft.

I decide to take a walk along the waterfront this morning, before I depart later in the afternoon. Arriving at the docks, there is already a lot of activity, as cargo is being unloaded. The wooden riverboats sit side by side, packed tightly together. As I watch, laborers offload a cargo of coconuts by hand, throwing them onto small carts. Soon another riverboat pulls in, also loaded down with coconuts. Ben Tre is well known throughout the country for its tasty coconut candy.

As I continue along the riverside road, I come to the local version of a teamster. As a river town Ben Tre has few trucks, and this hauler uses a small motorbike, with an open cart attached to the back. The cart is stacked high with bags of rice. I’m struck by how much work he is accomplishing, with less powerful machinery. His  motorbike engine is only 125 cc’s, yet he’s hauling a load that westerners would use a pickup truck to do. Admittedly, it’s not very safe. If he had to stop quickly, he could be crushed by those heavy bags of rice. At least he was wearing a helmet.

Unexploded ordinance (UXO) still litters Ben Tre. This war refuse is in the local Ben Tre Museum.

As commerce in Ben Tre has risen, more roads are being paved as the town expands. But road construction here is not without its hazards. Just before my arrival, an unexploded 250 pound bomb from the war years was found during digging on a local building site, and disarmed. The seasonal flooding and muddy earth of the delta rice paddies meant that many heavy bombs dropped here had soft landings, and didn’t explode. It’s no surprise that there are still numerous unexploded bombs still here today. With the rise in construction, and with the continued clearing of land for agriculture, more unexploded ordinance will continue to be found in Ben Tre, and not intentionally.

As I reach Dong Khoi Street on the waterfront, I step onto the town bridge that crosses the Ben Tre River to the next island. A section that was destroyed in the war has been rebuilt. A narrow bridge of light design, the town’s bridge can only withstand the weight of motorbikes and pedestrians. Like elsewhere in the delta, stronger, wider bridges are needed. Unfortunately for the delta dwellers, bridge construction in this region has been slow and plagued by problems.

Ben Tre's riverfront. The rebuilt bridge beyond is only strong enough for motorbikes and pedestrians.

A few years back, there was a major accident during bridge construction in nearby Can Tho Province in the delta. While many workers were laboring up on the bridge, a large section collapsed, killing at least 60 workers, leaving many more injured. It was all over the news. Many Vietnamese blame corruption as a factor in the disaster.

Further outside of Ben Tre, a large cable stay bridge is also under construction. When completed, it will connect Ben Tre Province to a highway leading out of the delta. The unfinished bridge is already months past its original opening date.

This modern suspension bridge will improve life in Ben Tre and the Mekong Delta

Before I leave, I ask a hotel clerk about the new bridge, and he’s well versed in the lingo of promotion. “When that bridge finishes, there will be even more tourism, more development,” he gushes. “Come back to Ben Tre in one year. You won’t even recognize it.”

In a wider context, I think that what he says is far more true, when comparing the war years to the present time. Americans that had been to Ben Tre back during those times of conflict, would hardly even recognize this town today.     

OUTRAGEOUS PHOTO LIE

The 'Dragon House' on Saigon's waterfront. Originally French built, now it's Ho's legacy.

I decide that if I am to really understand Vietnam, I should make a visit to a place down by the Saigon River. Here sits the Ho Chi Minh Museum, dedicated to the old communist himself, Ho Chi Minh. Located in the old French colonial customs building called the Dragon House, it’s appropriately named, since I see dragon decorations across the rooftop.

Statue of young Ho, outside the museum.

Outside stands a statue, depicting a young and beardless Ho Chi Minh. At that time he was known as Nguyen Tat Thanh; he hadn’t changed his name to Ho Chi Minh yet. (He changed his name several times during his life.) It was on this very river front in 1911, that he boarded a boat to leave Saigon, not to return to Vietnam for decades. Most Americans will be surprised to learn, that the next year he even lived in New York for a while. There in the Big Apple, the future president of North Vietnam, and future enemy of the USA, worked as a mere baker. This stay in the states was long before Ho became a revolutionary opposed to the US. It was only later when he moved to France that he would embrace communism. While in New York, he developed a taste for American cigarettes, which he smoked for years afterward.

America's great enemy. Ho loved American cigarettes!

Almost unreconisable, this is Ho as a young man.

Ho never spent much time here in Saigon, since his family was from farther north. Since there are more interesting things to see about Ho in Hanoi, I spend little time in this museum, that's almost void of visitors. Perhaps this is due to the current lack of revolutionary fervor for communism. Another possible reason, is that this isn't the only museum in Vietnam dedicated to old Uncle Ho. There are several of these Ho Chi Minh museums throughout the country! Talk about overkill.

Photo of US troops in Vietnam hanging in Saigon's Ho Chi Minh Museum

What does deserve mention here, is the most ridiculous attempt at propaganda I’ve ever seen. (And that's saying a lot!) Among many photos displayed on the walls, one has an enlarged black and white photo that many students that studied the Vietnam War will recognize. Previously published in an American book, the photo shows US Special Forces soldiers after they returned from a successful combat mission in Vietnam. They wear camouflage fatigues, and carry assault rifles. Some have bandoliers of ammunition across their shoulders, others have had their faces partially blackened for night fighting. Most are smiling, and holding up a North Vietnamese flag that they have just captured in battle.

The Ho Chi Minh Museum took a copy of that same photo, and hung it up in this museum, with this outrageous caption: 

How ridiculous.